Petals
by TheCookieWhoLived
Summary: Wolfram was sick of being useless. To Yuuri. To Conrad. To the Kingdom. To himself. So he decides to do something about it. A flower only truly blooms when its petals are ripped off.
1. Useless, Useless

**Disclaimer: No. I don't own Kyou Kara Maoh. And neither do the other 400 odd-writers. **

"_Useless."_

_The word echoed through his mind, repeating again and again, as if there were a million of them, the truthsayers, gathering in his mind to tell him what he was._

"_Useless."_

They found him like that, in the darkest corner of the hall, far away from the place where His Majest, Shinou, appeared. Wolfram's azure-clad arms wrapped around his knees, like a cacoon. Blond hair hung limply over hidden eyes, greener than everything.

"Wolfram?" came a soft, loving voice in front of him, filled with motherly warmth. Mother. But he couldn't hear her.

Useless, useless.

It drowned out everything. His pale, barely callused hands (useless) clenched, and his whole being trembled.

Cecilie von Spitzberg reached out for her son, her beautiful son, looking so lost and distant. But before she could hold him in her arms and tell him everything would be better, a hand laid on her shoulder and stopped her.

It was funny how that simple movement could stop a person from doing what she wanted most in the world.

His hands travelled up to clench in his luxuriant (useless) hair, his eyes shut in (useless) hysteria.

_Shinou picked up a flower. "What have you ever done, for Yuuri and his kingdom?"_

_Wolfram stared. _

"_You know what that makes you, doesn't it?" Shinou pulled off the petals, one by one, and each caused a rip of agony through his being._

"_Useless."_

* * *

**Am I stupid? Writing two big projects at the same time...**

**And I'm a new writer. o.O**

**Ah well. Next chapter up when I get 5 reviews ;D**

**And no. It doesn't count if all five are from you. But I appreciate the thought.**

* * *


	2. Changing

**Dislcaimer: Hoam Arak Ouyk nwo t'nodt I. See, see, tis backwards. Aren't I clever? :D**

* * *

"_An ancient training ground..?" Yuuri wondered aloud. Murata nodded. _

"_It's one of the oldest of the Mazoku training grounds. The most tough too. They directly address the Maryoku in their bodies. It's ruthless...People are said to have died from exhaustion from their vigorous training."_

"_Died?" His wide black eyes grew wider. The Great Sage looked over to the foountain, where Dreta and a crowd of others were playing._

"_Others have lost their sanity and committed suicide."_

"_That's rough..."_

"_It has the best results."_

_Wolfram, cleaning the blade of his sword, listened but said nothing. A place where barbarians were forced to use their power until it burst against them...of course they died. He snorted __derisively__. _

"_What's it called?"_

"_Kaeru."_

* * *

His dull, listless eyes stared at the fading wallpaper on the walls. A finger reached to trace a cloud patterned on it.

The clouds of his childhood, the ones he used to look up at for endless amounts of time, in search of the man he would come to be.

Wolfram slipped his fingers under the fragile paper, and in one motion, ripped it off.

Kaeru.

"Useless."

* * *

Conrad Weller sighed. His sword and polishing cloth rested uselessly on his lap.

All day his younger brother had been unusually detached. He said nothing, did nothing, except stare out his window. Greta wasn't allowed in his room, for fear that he would distress her. Yuuri was otherwise preoccupied with droughts and rebels, and had not the faintest idea. Something had gone on during that day, something that had changed Wolfram so drastically.

But what?

Ken Murata, observing it all from above, like he was so prone to doing, did not turn the matter over in his head as many times as Conrad. He knew what had happened in that large hall. He knew what Shinou had said. He knew that this could change Wolfram, that spolied brat, with so much raw emotion, for the better.

Or it could break him.

And now, he would have to fall back on the concept that he hated most about his role in this life.

He would have to wait, say nothing, and let the hot-tempered blond make the choice himself.

Would he stay rigid and break, or would he bend?

The brilliant light of the midday sun shone into his glasses, causing them to reflect back and shine brightly, hiding his eyes from view.

Suddnly, a loud clang drew him out of his thoughtful reverie. The brown-haired man below the balcony upon which he stood had lurched up suddenly. The sword and silver polishing cloth fell from his lap.

A feeling of fear stabbed at Conrad's heart.

He ran.

His feet pounded the marble floor. He didn't care who he bowled over and pushed out of the way, he just ran. Soldiers, maids, and other memebers of the castle turned to stare at this usually polite and mild-mannered man dashing through the hallways.

This feeling. He didn't like it. He had felt it before.

It was a type of intuition, the kind where you know soemthing is about to go horribly wrong. He just didn't know what it was. So, he relied on this basic instinct, the one all humans are gifted with. It took control of his feet, taking him to a place he didn't know.

Or maybe he did recognize it. He couldn't tell, for all his feeling and focus were put into running this call to the very end.

Suddenly, he came in contact with a chestnut door. Words were caved up and down its front. Wolfram's old childhood haunt, the place he wold return to after a scolding. This was the place his little brother had been contained in his self-induced solitaray confinement for the past day.

Heart thudding in his chest, Conrad opened the door.

Nothing. The room was empty. He took slow, halting steps to the bed, where the covers had been thrown off to the side. The window had been slammed open, and there was a note, stirred by the wind and weighed down by a small bottle, that looked like it had been scribbled on wallpaper.

Conrad turned it over. It was wallpaper, the very wallpaper in Wolfram's room.

He turned it back over, his tanned hand shaking so badly he had to squint to focus on the sloppy handwriting.

By the end, his entire body was trembling.

Wolfram was gone.

And he might never come back.

* * *

"A useless boy can change."

"I will be different. I will be new."

"Wolfram."

* * *

_Wolfram clutched his older brothers hand with his own chubby fingers. _

"_Aniki, do you see those clouds?"_

_The brown-haired adolescent smiled gently and interlaced their fingers. "Yes, I see them."_

_The small blond boy stared at them, and turned to look at his role model with big green eyes. "Do you see a man there?"_

"_Hmm?"_

_He nodded. "There's a man! He's strong, and he's brave, and he's the best at everything!"_

_Conrad smiled, intrigued by the prospect of this amazing man in the clouds. _

"_Hey, one day, I'm gonna be that man!" _

_He looked into his younger brother's fierce, eager gaze, so bold for one so young.. _

"_One day, I'm gonna protect all my special people and I'll be the strongest."_

* * *

**Dx So many reviews in just one day! Just one day, and twelve reviews. That's more than twice what I requested. **

**So, to thank you, I posted this chapter the very next day. Ooh.**

**So you're gonna have to deal with the length of this chapter.**

**Don't worry; the next will be way longer. And more Wolfram-centric.**

**Sop much drama. I'm drowning.**

**What amused me most about the reviewers was the fact that they were so angry at Shinou. One person even went to say she'd be mad at him through all of season three. Hahaha.**

**...WAIT. SEASON THREE?! IT CAME OUT?! D:**

**Gcbella19: Yey. Thank youuu.**

**Mon Chardonneret: It took me five minutes to figure out how to say your name. I wonder where I'm going, too...**

**Yuuram88: Heh. Yeah. When I wrote this, I had a feeling people wouldn't be very happy with Shinou. Poor guy.**

**Pikeebo: Perhaps. Perhaps self-realization? We all want to see him really bloom, huh? I hope he does, by the time I'm done with him. Or he'll wilt. X.x**

**REVIEWER NUMBER FIVE. LaFemme:-tardfive- WOO. 8D He does make me sad too...he's so easy to write angst for, though. The chapters will get longer as we progress...I'm scared. –pouts at fingers.-**

**Animekitty421: You're the first person to go over the limit! Posted! Sorry bout the legnth...next chapter shall be longer!**

**Mizuki Hikari: Haha, you just say it outright, huh?**

**Rowen raven: I love your reaction. XD **

**Hearmelaugh: Don't we all? I promise. There'll be a part where we can. Behehe.**

**Wolfyuu: Lawl. Yes, Mean Shinou...yet, honest Shinou.**

**Kimy38smiley: It was sweet? –laugh- That wasn't quite the reaction I was going for. But eh. **

**Sparkling-Ruby Gem: I don't think it'd be possible to submit fifty reviews. I love drama. I feed off drama. DRAMA. RUNS THROUGH. MY VEINSSS. Pairings be still undecided... **


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